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Why I’m Not Telling You Who Violent Acres Is

Last week, I received two tips about Violent Acres, the notorious blogger whom I discussed a while back. Earlier, I incorrectly speculated that she was a man – based mostly on her misogynistic geeky left-brained diatribes. I think she is a decent writer and have found a lot in her pieces to agree with.

The tipsters purported to tell me who Violent Acres was – by name, location and occupation. They claimed to have technical information to back up their assertions. One tip was an e-mail, and the other was posted shortly thereafter as a comment to my older post on the subject. I unpublished that comment for obvious reasons – perhaps the most important being (if it was wrong) I did not want an innocent bystander to get sucked into the serious shitstorm that would have followed. She has upset a lot of people. And, in the shadow of the absurd Kathy Sierra controversy, folks are getting way too serious about this stuff. True or not, though, I did not want this blog to be the source.

Ever the curious bird, however, I contacted the woman whom the tipsters claimed was the real Violent Acres.

The responses I received – as well as the additional sniffing around I did – has me fairly convinced that the named woman is indeed Violent Acres. In the context of what I learned, I had a brief moment or two when I felt like I had a bona fide ethical dilemma. It seemed interesting and newsy and worth publishing because to know who she is – and how that fits into those angry pieces she writes – is heartbreaking. How it might explain so much, I thought, and in all the ways her readers would never expect.

At the end of the day, though, it’s not my place. But, as you’ll probably see, it is news.